Palin won't declare her intentions

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is not saying whether she will vote in November to send the indicted Ted Stevens back to the Senate for a seventh full term.

The indictment has put Sen. John McCainâs (R-Ariz.) running mate in a tricky position. If Palin endorses Stevens, it will appear that she is undermining her message of taking on the GOP establishment and cleaning up corruption in her state. But should the popular governor oppose his reelection, it could deliver a blow to Stevensâs campaign and give Democrats ammunition as they try to pick up one more Senate seat.

Palinâs spokesmen in the McCain campaign have not responded to several inquiries seeking comment on the governorâs position on Stevens. A spokesman for the McCain campaign told the Alaska-based Peninsula Clarion that Palin has yet to endorse Stevens, the paper reported on its website Friday.

Stevens has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of concealing more than $250,000 of gifts from a now-defunct oil-services company. The trial is slated to begin later this month and could conclude before Election Day.

Democrats in the state are trying to make an issue out of Palinâs wavering approach to Stevens.

âGov. Palin canât have it both ways,â said Bethany Lesser, spokeswoman for the Alaska Democratic Party. âPalin claims to spearhead reform in Alaska, rooting out corruption. But so far she has stood steadfast by indicted Sen. Stevensâs side. Alaskans and the nation deserve to know once and for all â where does Palin stand on Stevens for Senate?â

Aaron Saunders, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign, said the governor and senator have had a âstrong working relationship for many years.â

âThey have been supportive of each otherâs past campaigns and we fully expect that to continue this fall,â Saunders said. He added that the Alaska Democratic Party is âclearly panickingâ after seeing the latest poll numbers and is resorting to âdesperate, nasty attacks.â

A new poll conducted by a Democratic pollster said that over the last three weeks, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begichâs (D) 17-point lead against Stevens has dropped to just three percentage points. The poll was conducted after Palin was chosen to be McCainâs running mate.

Saunders said Palin has ânot said anything explicitly eitherâ way about endorsing Stevens. But he was unsure whether she had been asked about the race since early July.

When Stevens â a legend in the state and the Senateâs longest-serving GOP senator â was indicted on seven felony counts, Palin said she shared her stateâs âdismayâ over the indictment, which she said ârocks the foundation of our state.â

But despite pressure that he resign, Palin said it âwould be premature at this pointâ to ask him to leave the Senate as the legal process unfolded.

In the final two weeks before Election Day in 2006, Stevens campaigned for Palin during her gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Tony Knowles and cut a television ad for her.

After Palin was chosen as McCainâs running mate, Stevens issued a statement praising the selection.

âI have known and worked with Sarah for over a decade â from her service as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in her role as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors, and most recently as our governor,â Stevens said. âShe is attentive to her job and family, brings people together, and is able to make tough decisions.â

The timing is bad. Now she has to keep her image as corruption fighter , and at same time give support to a corrupt man who helped her go far in politics. And people who can do that are given applause as (smart)

I don't know what is so difficult for her. She can say that if he is guilty, he should go to jail, and if he is not guilty than he should be re-elected.

She doesn't need him now to advance her ambitions.

Quote from trendlover:

The timing is bad. Now she has to keep her image as corruption fighter , and at same time give support to a corrupt man who helped her go far in politics. And people who can do that are given applause as (smart)

I see. Now that she is in the position to move forward without his help, she can still keep her image of corruption fighter. So she is self serving, not god serving or people serving. That would be acceptable if she did not claim her actions are for god or for the people.